Topic: Shaw Wu

Shares of Apple continue to make forward progress this week with as a pair of Wall Street analysts issuing new research reports that raise their price target on the stock in light of upcoming product catalyst.

Tough macroeconomic conditions are causing wireless carriers like Sprint and T-Mobile to become more aggressive with pricing of their monthly service plans, a move which could ultimately help drive down the cost of owning an iPhone.

Apple and its US wireless partner AT&T are discussing plans to potentially offer next-gen iPhone customers more data plan choices amid fears of losing their business during a time of economic hardship, according to a new report.

While acknowledging that expectations for next week's Macworld Expo are running relatively low, one Wall Street analyst believes there's an outside chance Apple will surprise show-goers with a new consumer oriented device.

A pair of Wall Street analysts tightened their estimates for Apple's 2009 fiscal year on Tuesday, citing softening demand for Macs in the United States and weaker than expected iPhone growth in Europe.

Giving the gift of iPhone this holiday season requires that customers purchase a gift card from Apple rather than the handset itself, a process that may understate the company's December quarter shipments as a result.

Although Macs and iPhones were seen as Apple's ticket to a healthy holiday quarter, the electronics maker has reportedly been struck by surprising demand for iPods and is now scurrying to restock some of its reseller channels.

Although this year's holiday shopping season is expected to present challenges for many consumer-oriented hardware companies, Apple is already showing signs of bucking the trend with Black Friday Mac sales reported to be better than expected.

Investment firm Kaufman Bros. said Wednesday it believes Apple is preparing to offer its deepest Black Friday discounts ever, but said the move has been accounted for in the company's guidance and will be largely offset by falling commodity costs.

American Technology Research trimmed its estimates for Mac maker Apple Inc. on Friday, saying that while the company's near term prospects look fine, future quarters may be met by muted demand, particularly for higher-end products like the MacBook Air.

Across the board price cuts announced by Apple on its iPod touch line of digital media players are "nice," but may not be sharp enough to drive a sales surge given economic conditions and the more aggressively priced iPhone 3G, according to one Wall Street analyst.

American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu put out a call to clients on Friday, saying they should be prepared for a slight letdown at Apple's event next Tuesday unless chief executive Steve Jobs pulls a rabbit from his black turtleneck.

Apple next week is expected to announce another quarter of strong earnings, but investors may respond unfavorably should the company's gross margin not recover from last quarter's instability, one Wall Street analyst says.

A flurry of new agreements between Apple and international wireless carriers has given American Technology Research higher conviction in the iPhone's near-term growth prospects, prompting an analyst at the firm to raise his price target on the company for the second time in as many weeks.

Less than two weeks after cutting his rating on Apple shares to Neutral, American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu on Monday said he's taking a step-back, reinstating his Buy rating, and revisiting his long-term thesis for the multi-faceted electronics maker.